


As American As Apple Pie

by gwyllgi



Series: Herc/Raleigh Bingo Challenge [11]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-20
Packaged: 2018-02-09 17:58:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1992393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwyllgi/pseuds/gwyllgi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raleigh's full of surprises, of which his baking ability is not the least.  Herc might fall in love all over again.  <i>There was a pie on his desk.</i></p><p>Written for the Herc/Raleigh Bingo Challenge prompt: Pie</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bingo Card

**Author's Note:**

> For lack of anywhere better to put it, the first chapter is my bingo card. Click on through to chapter 2 for the fic.


	2. As American As Apple Pie

There was a pie on his desk.

It seemed innocuous enough, still hot and steaming slightly, placed with obvious care on a trivet at the center of his desk. It looked delicious, to be honest, and the smell wafting throughout the office made Herc's mouth water. A couple of plates had even been set next to it, making it easy to give into the temptation for a taste.

But, still—it was a pie on Herc's desk, where no pie had any business being.

"Oh, good—you're here."

Herc turned just as Raleigh passed through the doorway, a tub of ice cream in one hand, silverware in the other. He looked particularly pleased with himself as he brushed past Herc to set the ice cream next to the pie. "I should have known you'd have something to do with this," Herc grumbled without heat.

Raleigh smiled over his shoulder at him—and, damn, but Herc would never be immune to that. "Had to celebrate the holiday somehow, right? What's better for that than apple pie?"

Holiday? Ah, yes—July fourth. "I didn't know you were that patriotic." Herc joined Raleigh, bumped into him as Raleigh brandished a pie slicer and sectioned the pie into even wedges. "Why apple?"

"You haven't heard the saying?" Raleigh slid the first piece of pie onto a plate, pushed Herc's hand away when he reached for it. "As American as apple pie?"

Herc nudged Raleigh's foot with his own and inhaled deeply; the sharp, sweet smell of the apples was enough to make his stomach growl with anticipation. "I'm pretty sure they have apple pie in other countries, Rals."

Raleigh shot a disgruntled look at Herc, then turned his attention back to the pie as he dished up a second piece. "That's not the point. It's tradition, like fireworks and barbecues and wearing red, white, and blue." He cracked open the ice cream container and quickly deposited a generous scoop atop each piece. "You can have one now."

Herc wasted no time in claiming one of the plates, and nearly groaned a moment later when he took his first bite; the pie was perfect, not too tart, not too sweet, and the ice cream melting over it was a messy, delicious bit of perfection. He'd polished off his piece before Raleigh had made it through even half of his, and Raleigh laughed when Herc set his plate down and eyed the remaining pie longingly.

"You can have more later." When Herc sighed, Raleigh smiled and offered him a bite from his own fork, slid the fork from between Herc's lips when he closed his mouth around it, and chased it with a quick kiss. "There's plenty; I made extras."

"Good—I could eat one of these on my own." Herc paused when Raleigh's words caught up with him and narrowed his eyes at Raleigh. "What do you mean, 'you made'?"

Raleigh shrugged and glanced away, and if Herc didn't know better, he'd think Raleigh was embarrassed. "I made them. Someone had to, right?"

Herc touched Raleigh's wrist, ran his fingers up Raleigh's arm to grip his biceps. "I didn't know you baked." He took Raleigh's plate and set it aside, then settled his hand at Raleigh's hip. "What else can you do that I don't know about?"

"I can roll my tongue," Raleigh offered, then grinned when Herc raised an eyebrow. "OK, yeah, you probably figured that out already. Let's see. My record is 182 pull-ups. I'm allergic to cats but not dogs. I read the entire Harry Potter series—they were Jaz's favorite bedtime stories and I was the only one who did the voices right. My first kiss was Renee Dubois when I was four. My second kiss was her brother. She punched me, he didn't."

"That's good." Herc turned his head to nudge his nose against Raleigh's cheek. "Good to know." He closed his eyes and inhaled Raleigh's scent, salt and musk mingled with the lingering smell of pie. "Do you make anything else?"

Raleigh chuckled, and rested his hands at Herc's waist. "Plenty. Honestly, my favorite kind of pie is pecan, but I didn't have any bourbon." He shifted, settled in Herc's embrace. "How about you?"

Herc didn't even have to think about it. "Cherry. It was my grandmother's favorite, so she'd always make one when we all came over. Half the time, Scott had his fingers in it before it was time for it to be served, but it was still some damned fine pie." He opened his eyes to find Raleigh watching him with a small, fond smile. "Never did learn how to make it myself, though. Where'd you learn?"

"Maman taught me; she loved to bake, made the _best_ croissants. I was the only one of the three kids interested, at least until I got older and it wasn't cool anymore." Raleigh grimaced. "I was stupid, didn't know she had cancer then. She kept trying to teach me more, and I just ignored her until she stopped." He rested his forehead on Herc's shoulder, sighed when Herc's hand curved over the back of his neck. "Wasn't until I was on the Wall that I got interested again—ironic, really. Hard to bake pies with ration cards." He straightened again and squeezed Herc's waist. "Doesn't matter now—I've got everything I need here."

"Right here?" Herc rubbed his hand over Raleigh's nape, returned Raleigh's small, playful grin. " _Right_ here?"

"Nowhere else," Raleigh said. He brushed a kiss over Herc's chin, then pulled himself from Herc's embrace and turned to busy himself with putting the lid back on the ice cream and cleaning up their dishes. "I should get this back in the freezer, let you get back to work."

Herc hummed and pressed against Raleigh's side, slid an arm around his waist to jostle him good-naturedly. "Haven't you heard? It's a holiday." He pressed his fingers against Raleigh's cheek to turn his head, and kissed the laughter from his lips. The pie might have been delicious, but there was no contest—it had nothing on Raleigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized halfway through this that it has an almost-identical opening to _Smooth and Creamy, Melt-In-Your-Mouth_. I guess I like Herc being surprised in his office by Raleigh, huh?
> 
> If you catch the gratuitous Mass Effect reference, I love you.
> 
> Thanks as always to [sorrowfulcheese](http://archiveofourown.org/users/sorrowfulcheese) for the super speedy beta. Any lingering errors are mine, naturally.


End file.
